Upgrading to 2023 Macbook Pro M2

[tps3443]

Hey everyone, I have owned a 2020 MacBook Air M1 13” 16GB/1TB since launch. It has been an amazing machine. (This M1 Air was my first Mac OS in my life, and It has more or less convinced me to invest in a larger and higher end MacBook machine)

I work from home and I find my self using my MacBook Air M1 over my beast desktop PC pretty much daily now. I like to move around while working. And I find that I can get way more work done on my Apple laptop and stay better focused.

The main issue I am struggling with is my M1 Air screen size is too small. I wish it had a slightly larger display with higher resolution. This is leaning me towards the MacBook Pro 14” or MacBook Pro 16” laptops. My main question here is, does the MacBook Pro 14” with higher resolution and slightly larger panel make it worth it? Or should I just jump right to the 16“?

The MBP 14” and MBP 16” have higher resolutions so I would have more screen space which may help with that cramped feeling on my M1 Air. I just want to feel less cramped, and I’m worried the 14” MBP may not provide that.

As for specs on either model, I’m after the 38C GPU for graphical HP, 64-96GB ram for overkillness since it’s all unified and shared between CPU and GPU etc, and probably 2TB storage in either 14” or 16”. I want a tank that’ll last me years

I appreciate the input. The 14” is cheaper, but I don’t wanna feel cramped. I don’t really have a way to test one before I buy it. I’d be ordering online.

 

[neo_cs193p]

I had the same worries as you, and ended up going straight to 16" (if it's such a great display, why not use it more, instead of it being too small and always needing to connect the laptop to an external, right?). Anyway after a few weeks I was missing the portability of the smaller laptops more than I was enjoying the big screen (which I also found more straining on the eyes, especially in low light conditions), so I ended up just using the 13" most of the times, to the point that the 16" was not worth it for me. I never had the 14", but its size seems just about right for me. Bear in mind many will disagree and have happily gone the other way, from small to big.

That said, many reviewers have found that the 38GPU M2 Max and the 14" chassis are not a good combination (overheating significantly more than the M1 Max which already had this issue in the smaller laptop). If I were in your shoes and decided portability was more important, I would go for the base M1 Pro, and up the RAM to 32 and the SSD to 1TB or whatever you like. This would get me the coolest CPU/GPU combo and the longest battery life in the small variant, with great performance still.
But if I decided I needed max GPU performance, I would get the 16" with the specs you are currently considering.

 

[Username-already-in-use]

As someone who used a corporate provided M2 Air for 6 months, MBP 14” feels like a way better upgrade on the screen and you won’t be disappointed. I have a 16” Windows laptop and working on the MBP 14” isn’t cramped at all.

However, if you are looking for a tank then I suggest you should go for the 16”.

The M2 Max 16” has high performance mode (which the M2 Max 14” doesn’t), so if you really need the power (and it sounds like you do) then you need the 16”. When you’re using all those cores then the thermals of the 16” and its bigger fans are going to be more useful to you.

 

[jerryk]

To me, the issue was more the quality of the m1 Air's screen. The 14" screen was considerably better and the difference is very obvious to me.

Regarding the 16" vs 14", I had an Intel 16" and found it considerably heavier and bulkier than a 14" MBP. I could not justify the extra size for the additional screen real estate.

 

[ericwn]

I don’t carry my laptops around that often and have the 14” for a year now. If screen estate is your wish and you look for a substantial upgrade to the 13, I’d pick the 16 in a heartbeat. Use Apples return policy try it out yourself to see how you get along with the big one!

 

[Silvestru Hosszu]

I had the 13” Air and now have 14 and 16” Pro.
If screen real estate is what you are after, 16” is the way to go.
Honestly I felt no difference, at least as screen size wise between 13 and 14”.
Another point is what others already pointed out. Max chipset in the 14” model is not the best match.

 

[jav6454]

Hey everyone, I have owned a 2020 MacBook Air M1 13” 16GB/1TB since launch. It has been an amazing machine. (This M1 Air was my first Mac OS in my life, and It has more or less convinced me to invest in a larger and higher end MacBook machine)

If you want a better machine just cause of the screen why not buy an external monitor instead?